Pacific Grove's Amara Miller blossoms in role of Marigold on new TV comedy '1600 Penn'

Amara Miller downplays how she was cast in the role of the president's daughter on the new NBC comedy "1600 Penn."

The 12-year-old from Pacific Grove dismisses it as a "normal audition process," quite unlike the happenstance way she nabbed a spot as George Clooney's daughter in 2011's Oscar-winning film "The Descendents" — her first acting gig.

But the thing is, she didn't have to audition for "1600 Penn" at all.

Miller was brought in for testing, meaning she leap-frogged the process that starts with thousands of hopefuls, and was told a couple of weeks later that the part of Marigold Gilchrist was hers.

"It means they really liked what she did (in 'The Descendents'), which is a huge honor," said her mother, Ahnalisa Miller.

Amara Miller went to Los Angeles and shot the first episode, called a pilot, in three weeks, then returned to Pacific Grove for two months of waiting. She was on the back deck with her little brother when she received a call from the show's director, writer and producers.

"I still remember, they said, 'All right, Amara, you've gone from an Oscar-winning movie to a pilot that's just been picked up — we're going for a season!'" she said. "Everybody was celebrating. It was really fun."

"1600 Penn" is a family comedy set at the White House, where Miller's character is one of four children in the first family headed by Bill Pullman and Jenna Elfman.

"Marigold is a spunky preteen girl who is really confident and strong, and those are two things I really admire," Miller said. "She's athletic and she's kind of a tomboy. ... But my favorite part of Marigold is she has a kind of equal balance between her feminine side and her masculine side. She wears pants a lot and she really likes sports, but she curls her hair every morning." (Miller, pointing to her black-and-white heart-covered dress during an interview last week, said she definitely identifies more with Marigold's feminine side.)

Miller, who has a younger and older brother, said having siblings helps in her portrayal of Marigold.

"If I had only two sisters or if I was an only child, I think it would be a little bit tougher to play my character realistically," she said.

Miller has adapted well to the quicker pace of television, where episodes are shot in five days and scripts sometimes arrive the night before a table read. The stricter standards of television mean she has to have her lines down cold — there's little room for deviation — but that, too, is not a problem.

No, she says, her biggest challenge is a set that's too darn fun.

"One of my main troubles with comedy is trying to keep a straight face, and I think that's everybody's problem. It's really hard, especially since we're filming with Josh Gad," she said, referring to the show's co-creator and its comedic and emotional center. Gad plays eldest son Skip, who moves back home after a decidedly unproductive seven years of college. "Every single take, he will do a new version of his own improv'd line, and every single take is hilarious. And the camera's on you, and you can't laugh, but you're sitting here shaking, you want to laugh so hard."

Miller has nothing but high praise for her co-stars, who were welcoming from the start — "Nobody on set was stingy or weird or mean or disrespectful," she said. She spends most of her time with Benjamin Stockham, who plays Marigold's younger brother, Xander. As the only two kids on set, they often eat lunch together and study in the "school trailer" between filming.

Miller — who went to Pacific Grove Middle School until the end of sixth grade, when auditions and meetings drew her too frequently to Los Angeles — is now home-schooled through an online program.

Miller and her mother moved to L.A., close to the Hollywood sign, while she filmed 13 episodes of "1600 Penn." When asked what she thinks of the city, she responds "I looove L.A." as though admitting a guilty pleasure, then seemingly catches herself to add praise for her hometown, describing the two locations as a perfect balance of small-town freedom and big-city excitement.

She said it was hard at first to be separated from the rest of her family, though she visited every couple of weeks. She seems especially fond of younger brother Willem, 8, who has caught the acting bug himself. When he emerged after the interview, Miller playfully draped over him, and the two got into some mutual mischief in the kitchen.

The siblings also have a bond over conservation. Willem made a video urging protection for whales, and Miller has worked to raise awareness about the threats of plastic pollution.

"I think it's really important to help others, even if they're animals, if they're plants, if they're trees," she said.

Another important cause for Miller is bullying. She's involved in the All It Takes charity, which seeks to prevent bullying by empowering youth in an environmental setting. It was started by Shailene Woodley, Miller's co-star in "The Descendents," and Woodley's mother.

"Bullying is such a vital issue that needs to be met, that needs to be acknowledged," said Miller, adding that she was bullied at school, an experience she called "horrible." "A lot of kids who have been bullied for a very long time, they just can't do it anymore and they end up taking their own lives. ... I just don't think that (bullies) realize how much it can affect other people."

As for acting, Miller still has her sights set on films. Since "The Descendents," she said she has auditioned for about 45 movies. Her mother said one promising independent film is unfortunately hitting delays.

Miller also auditioned for a handful of TV shows in addition to "1600 Penn."

"Only '1600 Penn' and one other made it to full season, and it's really astounding that I got that part and that we're going that far," she said. "It's really exciting."